Day at the Park
by Alleybat
Summary: Dick finally got up the nerve to ask Babs on a date to the park. How will their escapade into Gotham's Central Park go when rumors say it's so big that you can't even see the city from the middle?


He had done it. He had finally worked up the courage to ask Barbara Gordon out on a date.

It really shouldn't have taken this long… They've been best friends for years and he's had a crush on her the whole time. The opportunity never really presented itself before though, either their friends wanted in on plans… or the setting wasn't proper for a date.

But this time was different… Babs wanted to go to Gotham Central Park to test the theory that it was so big, if you can make it to the middle, you can't even tell you're in the city anymore. Babs loved investigating things; it started when they first met with an impromptu ghost hunt after hours at school… which only left her in tears after he told her a ghost story, like an idiot. But ever since then, Babs liked to dispel rumors and legends she heard and take him along for the ride.

He showed up a few minutes early, nervous. He and Alfred had prepared a lunch for later, which was neatly packed away in Dick's backpack. Really, the only reason he asked Alfred for the help was to get his advice. Alfred gave the best advice when he was cooking, so Dick often tried to make excuses to cook. It's not that Bruce couldn't or wouldn't give advice… it's just that Dick always felt more comfortable asking Alfred when it pertained to "issues of the heart" as he so often put it.

Babs arrived soon after, eager to get heading deep into the park. Dick knew they might as well get going, so he didn't protest when she immediately started on her way in. Years as Robin had made him cautious and he found himself walking with her like he was her bodyguard, in the best possible position to take up defense should anything happen. He reminded himself that he'd checked to make sure Poison Ivy, the most likely villain to set up shop here, was still secure in Arkham. He told himself to relax and moved to walk beside her.

They talked about school, acrobatics, friends, and really any topic that came up. They walked for an hour before Babs complained of hunger.

"I have some lunch with me." Dick said sliding the backpack off.

"Oh really?" She said surprised. "Why don't we find a bench and eat then! I'm starved…"

There was one nearby. They sat and ate, continuing their conversation before, until Babs suddenly changed the subject.

"You know….. I haven't seen anyone around in a while…" She said looking around them.

"We're so in so deep, most people don't regularly come in this far…" he answered.

"It's kind of eerie… I can barely even see Gotham…" She said looking off at the distant skyscrapers. "I wonder how close we are to the middle…"

"I haven't seen any maps in a while." Dick commented, he'd been paying attention to trail markers and maps, but he lost track of them a while ago. "Babs…. I think we're lost…."

"Nonsense!" She said, looking nervous. "How can we get lost in a park?"

"Maybe because it's so big you can't see the city from the middle?" Dick said.

Babs got up to throw away her trash, and Dick followed suit. She looked around for a minute pacing in a circle, trying to find her bearings.

"What trail did we come down, Dick?" She said looking between the maze of trails before them.

"Uh, I'm not entirely sure… I got turned around when we went looking for the bench." He answered.

"Me too…" Babs said. "Maybe… this one?" she pointed down a trail to her left.

Dick wasn't entirely sure that was the right way, but he didn't trust his internal compass. He followed her regardless and they walked for another 15 minutes before they realized they must be going the wrong way.

"I can't even see Gotham at all…" Dick said straining to see Gotham's skyline though all the trees around them.

"Well…. I guess we proved that rumor…" Babs said nervously.

"I guess…. But Babs…" He said. "Which way is the fastest way out? We've been walking for over an hour… how do we know which way will take us back the fastest? It's gonna get dark in a few hours…"

"I…. I dunno…" Babs said looking all around her. "Who would have thought we would get lost, in a park?"

"Man…." Dick sighed. "This has got to be the worst date ever…."

"Date?" Babs asked, stopping her search for a way out for a moment to look at him. "You thought this was a date?"

"I… isn't this… I thought…" Dick stammered kicking himself for thinking it was.

"I… I didn't think it was…" Babs said looking at the ground.

He felt himself go red. Stupid. Idiot. Why would she think something like this was a date? Why didn't he have the balls to say it outright in the beginning that he wanted it to be a date? Why'd he open his big mouth and make things awkward now that they had an hour walk ahead of them?

They stood in silence for a minute. Not daring to look at each other. That's when they heard the jingle of a bell. They turned to find its source and an ice cream cart came into their field of vision. Dick took one look at the cart and decided Ice cream sounded like a great idea. He looked at Babs, gesturing to the cart and she nodded. They both walked over and got a couple of cones, Babs went to pay for hers, but Dick intervened and paid for both. The ice cream guy winked at him and walked off.

"You didn't have to pay for mine…" Babs mumbled to her chocolate ice cream.

"Yeah…. I did." He said beginning to eat his mint chip. "I shouldn't have thought we were on a date… I just… really wanted us to be I guess… I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward. We can just forget the whole thing."

"No Dick…" She said. "Actually… I thought, er hoped, it was a date too…"

"You…. You did?" He asked taken aback

"Yeah, well… You were so adamant about making sure we could go, just the two of us… and I hoped that was because you wanted it to be a date… But I didn't want to ask" She said staring at her melting ice cream.

"Maybe… I should have made it more clear what exactly I wanted to do…" Dick said.

"Maybe…" Babs said. "Maybe we should try again… like we should go to a movie… get some dinner? Maybe we could do this right?"

"Yeah… I think we can." Dick said smiling at her.

"You have ice cream all over your mouth, Grayson." She teased.

Dick went to wipe it off with the thin napkins the ice cream guy had given them, then he realized.

"Babs! That ice cream guy! He would know the way out of here!"

"What?!" Babs exclaimed. "Which way did he go?"

"That path! He took that path!" Dick said grabbing his backpack and pointing.

They both dropped their ice cream and went running down the path after their savior.


End file.
